On the road, against a nationally-ranked opponent, the Hope College men's basketball team showed the toughness and resilience that carried the Flying Dutchmen all season.
Hope hung with 12th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh until the final buzzer sounded and Oshkosh escaped with a 51-50 victory on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
A shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim, sending Oshkosh into next week's sectional round. The Flying Dutchmen, MIAA Tournament champions, finished with a 20-10 record.
"Obviously an extremely tough one," head coach Greg Mitchell said. "I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys. I loved our fight. I loved our toughness, especially how we came out in the second half. I think there was a time in the first half it looked like they were going to expand the lead and get really comfortable. We wouldn't allow that because we're a tough group of guys. We showed ourselves right to the buzzer."
Senior forward Evan Thomas (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos HS) led Hope with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Senior guard Clayton Dykhouse (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Sophomore center Gabe Quilland (Ada, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Oshkosh (23-6) received a game-high 23 points off the bench from senior guard Will Mahoney. Senior forward Levi Borchert added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams finished shooting similarly from the field: Hope at 35.6 percent and Oshkosh at 34.9. The teams combined to attempt six free throws: Hope two and Oshkosh four.
The game featured eight tie scores and three lead changes.
Hope twice had opportunities to take the lead in the final minute of regulation.
Quillan rebounded a jumper from freshman guard Marcus Wourman (East Lansing, Michigan / East Lansing) with 30 seconds left remaining. Dykhouse's 3-pointer four seconds later would not fall, though.
After a Hope foul with 13 seconds remaining, Oshkosh's Cole Booth missed the front end of a one-and-one. Junior forward Tanner Wiegerink (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) pulled down the rebound.
With three fouls to give, Oshkosh used them and ran off precious seconds off the clock. With four seconds remaining, Dykhouse inbounded the ball from the baseline. Thomas caught the ball and dribbled to the far elbow at the free-throw line. His jumper rolled off the rim.
"Tough circumstances at the end when they had three fouls to give. We were able to get a clean look for ET, and that's a credit to ET and Clay to continue to attack downhill," Mitchell said. "It was a heck of a basketball game. It's just a tough one to come up on the short side."
The Flying Dutchmen closed the season holding an opponent to fewer than 70 points for the 11th consecutive game, including six games under 60.
In a season full of challenges, Mitchell was proud of how his team, led in part by senior co-captain Brady Swinehart (Ionia, Michigan / Ionia) banded together and continued to compete.
"I felt we wanted this every bit as much (as Oshkosh), if not more. To come into this environment is not easy. I'm most proud of their toughness, their passion (and) their desire to win," Mitchell said. "What made it special is guys believing in something bigger than themselves. These guys are going to be better men, human beings, husbands (and) dads, because they know something is bigger than themselves.
"We were on the canvas many times this year looking up. We kept getting up. A lot of that has to do with Brady's leadership, his moxie, his toughness, his leadership, and we followed that."